The present invention relates to “gooseneck” type trailer hitches for use in the bed of a tow vehicle, such as a pickup truck. More particularly, this invention relates to a gooseneck trailer hitch mechanism that allows a user to store the hitch ball in an inverted position when it is not needed to make the bed of the truck flat and thereby permit the user to make full use of the truck's bed.
The most common method of hooking a trailer to a vehicle for towing is attaching the trailer to a hitch ball that is mounted on or near the vehicle's rear bumper. However, by virtue of their arrangement, bumper pulled trailers have relatively small size and load restrictions. A common method is employed to tow larger trailers the use of a gooseneck trailer with a gooseneck trailer hitch. In a gooseneck trailer hitch arrangement, a hitch ball is mounted in or on the floor of a pickup bed and/or to the truck frame below the bed floor generally over or slightly ahead of the rear axle of the truck. The trailer has a long tongue portion which is curved and takes on the general shape of a goose's neck, thereby deriving its name. As a benefit of having the hitch ball mounted directly over or forward of the rear axle, as opposed to mounted on the bumper, the amount of load placed on the tongue of the trailer can be increased, because the load is passed directly onto the rear axle of the truck, instead of onto the bumper.
While gooseneck hitches of this type have been around for years, a problem associated with this hitching arrangement is that it often requires the presence of an upwardly projected and typically permanently mounted hitch ball in the middle of the floor of the bed. In the majority of the gooseneck hitch arrangements, the hitch ball is coupled with a large metal plate and the entire unit is bolted or welded to the floor of the truck bed and/or to the truck frame below the bed floor in a location which is generally in the center of the bed. This type of arrangement presents a problem in the event a user of the truck desires to lay large, flat sheet goods in the truck's bed. In that situation, the upwardly projecting hitch member does not allow the sheet goods to lay flat in the bed of the truck and can thereby damage the sheet goods. Similarly, if the user of the truck fills the bed with loose material, such as dirt or gravel, and attempts to shovel the loose material out, the upwardly projecting hitch member often interferes with the user's ability to shovel the loose material.
In an effort to solve these problems, several people have devised arrangements where the hitch ball is either completely removable or may be lowered beneath the floor of the bed. In the situation where the hitch ball is removable, a problem arises, however, in that, without a place to immediately store the removed hitch ball, the hitch ball is often misplaced and, eventually, lost. One arrangement that solved these problems has the hitch ball mounted in a pivoting arrangement that permits the hitch ball to be laid or folded down on its side below the bed surface when not in use. Another arrangement that solved these problems is the advent in recent years of a convertible type gooseneck hitch ball that permits the hitch ball to be retracted below the surface of the bed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,000 to PopUp Industries. These arrangements, however, often require a lot of space under the bed to mount the associated mechanism and are often costly to manufacture. Additionally, these methods do not permit the hitch ball member to rotate during use, a feature that has been found beneficial in some instances.
Therefore, there is a need for a gooseneck trailer hitch mechanism which permits the hitch ball to be easily moved from an upright use position to a position that permits full use of the truck bed while storing the hitch ball in a convenient location. There also is a need for a gooseneck trailer hitch mechanism which is compact in size and which is simple to manufacture. The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and fills these and other needs.